LOTTERY NEWS

I was waiting in my local lotto shop a while back, standing in line. I don’t normally wait in a queue anywhere, but of course a lotto line is different! This store was a kiosk in a large grocery supermarket chain and I go there every day or two just to get out of my home office--meet new people, you know the kind of thing.

Ahead of me in the line, a few people away, there was a women looking expectantly as her tickets were being checked through the machine.

Housewife type, not well dressed, but a nice person - you could tell.

Suddenly the till gave that little chiming noise I knew so well.

It's called "I'm In The Money."

I identified it straight away because it usually makes that noise for me each week.

Tip: get your tickets checked out by machine instead of doing them yourself. It's far more accurate and takes less time. I have dozens of tickets in play at any time, so it would be insane for me not to!

Anyway, the till chimed and the woman clapped her hands together with joy.

I saw the happiness in her face as the lotto guy counted out about $100 to her from the till pockets. The line was abuzz.

The guy ahead of me in the line turned and said, "That's the first time I've ever seen that happen."

"Like what?" I asked.

"A win," he replied, his eyes doleful. "Never had one, never seen anyone else get one either."

As the women skipped passed us tucking her money into her purse, a smile still covering her face, I had a sudden thought.

From the wad of tickets in my special lotto wallet, I pulled one out and handed it to him.

"What's this?" he asked suspiciously, peering at the old-fashioned ticket.

At this point I have to tell you something about lotto tickets.

I've been using my system a long time, and it wins a lot of times. And I use the same tickets and set of numbers each time. This is the part of the Silver Lotto System secret.

Anyhow, it was one of the old series from a couple of years back that was still making me money. And in an impulsive move I gave this one coupon to the guy in front of me.

"Have a try with this, with my compliments," I said.

He seemed reluctant. "Go on, it'll only cost you $3.50 to play." And in an effort in explain my action, I told him it was part of a system that gave me wins most weeks, but that I was going to change it shortly. So he could have my old ticket.

Well, the line wound its way up to the counter, we got served and we went our separate ways. I went off to buy the day's groceries, and my friend disappeared into the carpark. I thought nothing more of it.

Until last week.

I was back in the store, looking for some grapefruit juice. We're non-drinkers, my wife and I, but this non-alcoholic stuff is packaged like wine and makes us feel special. Yes, the stupid things we do to delude ourselves!

As I stood up with the bottle in my hand, standing in front of me was the guy from the lotto line a couple month's back, grinning at me.

I knew he had some good news to tell me, just by the expression on his face.

Without saying a word, he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and started peeling off some notes. Handing them to me, he said, "Mate, your ticket saved my bacon, so this is for you." (Some New Zealanders use 'mate' as a replacement for 'sir' or 'friend.')

Well, it turns out his phone was about to be cut off the afternoon I first met him in line, and he was between paydays--as some people are. So the lotto win not only paid for his phone to be reconnected, but there was enough over to buy his daughter some material for a school project she desperately needed.

I pushed the money back to him. "My reward is that it worked for you," I said, "I don't need your share."

Here's my point: You don't need a lot of money to win with the Silver Lotto System. Just persistence.

And maybe a little generosity.

While I'm not giving away my system just yet, it's still at the lowest price I can give you today!